242. Highland 20th Anniversary India Pale Ale

"Twenty years ago Highland opened its doors in a town otherwise bereft of breweries.  Our name anchors us here.  "Highland" honors Asheville's Scots Irish heritage.  With another nod to local history, we present our limited edition 20th Anniversary American India Pale Ale, the third of four in a bottled series.

Hop-forward, yet balanced by a strong malt foundation, this ale pours deep golden in color.  Two experimental hop varieties, currently named EXP-05256 and EXP-07270, as well as Amarillo, lend notes of citrus and tropical fruits and lead to a pleasant bitter finish."

Hey y'all.  I've been drinking, just haven't had much time for blogging.  Figured I'd take the opportunity to churn one out while I have a little bit of peace and quiet.  Now that I'm juggling a couple of kids, peace and quiet is very limited.  No complaints from me though, glad to be a parent.

I know that IPAs should be enjoyed fresh.  I have a few IPAs that I've had for a couple of years.  I just end up not in the mood for an IPA and it sits. And sits.  And sits.  So even though this bad boy was bottled on 9/9/14, I'm just getting around to drinking it over two years later.

The beer was poured into a Dogfish Head IPA glass.  It has a more amber/orange color to it.  One and a half fingers of off-white sea foam like head, leaving lacy splotches all over the sides of the glass and a film at the surface.  Aromas of malt, raisin, resin are predominant.  

The malt base of the beer is certainly on the sweet side, something I'd be more used to when dealing with a higher gravity IPA.  At 6.0% ABV, this is just your standard IPA.  Along with the taste of malt and brown sugar, there's a little bit of pine and fig.  The bitter finish is still there, although perhaps not as prominent as it could be if consumed fresh.  Aftertaste lingers a little bit, but it's not overpowering.  Slick on the tongue but not too oily.  Beer is lightly carbonated, if a little flat, probably another consequence of drinking a beer too late.  

Even though it shows it's age, I didn't hate the beer.  It certainly wasn't a drain pour for me.  And while I've been more than guilty of not finishing off my beers, especially my bombers, I can confidently say that I took care of this one.  Ultimately though, it's just okay, nothing overly memorable about it.  I reckon I should try Highland's standard IPA offering and compare against this one.

Grade: C

Price Paid: $8.99 (22 oz bomber)

241. Hi-Wire Contortionist Black IPA

"Contortionist.  We hope you enjoy this dark, hoppy beer.  As you experience the earthy and floral hops that give way to a roasted malt profile, The Contortionist will bend your perception of what a Black IPA can be."

Happy 4th of July everyone!  As we celebrate another year of our original independence, or as my brother-in-law would say, the "First Brexit", I figured I'd take the time to catch up on my blog and add at least a half dozen posts today.  To start off, I decided to grab the empty beer bottles and notes I keep on my shelves and start with those.  The first empty beer bottle happened to be the Hi-Wire Contortionist Black IPA.

The beer was poured into a snifter glass.  It has a near black color in appearance with a half-finger of tan colored head.  Average retention with a small ring of lacing.  Aromas of charred malt, earth, pine, and some fruity esters.

The roasted malts are front and center, followed by the bitter finish of earth and pine.  The bitter lingers for quite a while.  Light to medium bodied with average carbonation.  6.0% ABV and unfiltered.

This particular beer did not resonate with me.  I've had "Black IPAs" before and I've found them to be tasty, but this particular brew seemed to be in conflict and just didn't mesh together well.  

Grade: C-

Price Paid: $2.69 (12 oz bottle)

240. Ommegang Hop House

"Ommegang stands on an historic hop farm - our hop house ale combines the delicious aromas and flavors of Belgian-style ales with generous hopping, including dry-hopping.  Enjoy with salads and seafood, or with spicy foods, pizza, burgers.  Ommegang hop house is also a superb session-style ale."

I live!  So it seems I haven't posted in about six months.  I fell off the wagon.  Time to get back to being a little more consistent with my reviews.  I still have almost 90 that are in draft form that I need to complete.  And I have probably a dozen empty beer bottles in my man-cave, waiting to get put into draft form.  And let's not count the numerous beers I may have enjoyed at a restaurant or while visiting a brewery.  I'll get to them all, in due time.  

So let's start with a bottle of something that I have right in front of me.  I'm expecting a second child and I've been told that my man-cave is switching rooms..to a smaller room.  I'm expected to cull my alcohol stash by roughly 50% as I make the transition.  It means I'll be doing a good amount of drinking between now and October.  To that point, I just grabbed a random bottle, stuck it in the fridge, and these are the details.

The beer was poured into a Sam Adams perfect pint (I recently purchased some fancier glassware, this being one of them).  It pours a hazy orange color.  3 fingers of off-white colored head.  Soapy along the sides but more sea foam on top.  Heavy sticky lacing on the sides of the glass in randomized splotchy fashion.  Foam leaves a layer of film up top.  I can pull in aromas of grapefruit, grass, yeast, and some light pine.

The bitter is strong with this one.  More pronounced than I was expecting.  Tastes of orange, grapefruit, some grassy notes, some yeast.  Finishes dry.  On the light to medium side in regards to mouthfeel, with low carbonation.  At 6%, there's no noticable alcohol taste as it goes down.

I expected this to be sweeter and while I knew the hops would be a little more pronounced since it was dry-hopped, I didn't expect the beer to be so bitter.  It might be classified as a belgian pale ale but it could easily pass for its American version.  Might even pass as an IPA with some character.  That said, it is different, but I don't find it to be different in a good way.  I was able to finish the beer, but it didn't wow me and if I'm in the mood for a Belgian Pale Ale, I'd likely look in a different direction.

Grade: C+

Price Paid: $2.78 (12 oz bottle)

Haul for 1/9/16

I figured I better put the year on these haul things for the sake of being able to better scan through some of my older posts.  I was back at the Triangle Wine Company in Cary since my wife needed to go next door to Whole Foods.  I said I'd go to the store real quick and take a quick look and be back in Whole Foods pronto.  Sure enough, I didn't take more than 7 minutes to make my choices and get out of there.  I gave myself a personal limit on how much to pay for beer and ultimately blew it.  Here's the haul:

• Wicked Weed Puzzle Pieces - I seriously thought of getting something different from Wicked Weed since this was just labeled as a barrel select sour ale.  The more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be pretty neat to get a barrel select without a whole bunch of frills.  That, and after reading the bottle and understanding that some of the proceeds went to support the fight against autism, I made the decision to buy.  Price paid: $12.99
• Wicked Weed Cherry Go Lightly - Now this was an easier selection based on the amount of cherries that were used to make this bad boy.  Just another sour to age for a while.  Price paid: $14.99

Haul for 12/19 Part 2

While still Christmas shopping, I would drop by the Triangle Wine Company to get a few presents.  Me and my childhood friends usually gift alcohol to each other for Christmas.  While the usual gifts include hard liquor, my buddies requested some wine as a potential gift choice along with their usual selection of hard liquor.  I figured I'd buy them some wine and some (cheaper) liquor.  Of course, Triangle Wine Company sells more than just wine, and I ended up walking out with more beer.  Here's the haul:

• Stone Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard - I've never had a regular Arrogant Bastard, so I probably need to pick that up pretty soon so I can do a taste comparison.  That said, for a barrel aged brew, I thought the price was very reasonable and I opted to pick it up.  Price paid: $2.99
• Schilling Gold Cider - I've had a few ciders from Schilling and have had solid experiences.  This was a type I haven't had yet, so I figured I'd pick it up.  Price paid: $2.59
• Founders Devil Dancer IPA - A triple IPA?  I don't think I've had one of those before and wanted to give it a go.  Price paid: $3.99
• Mother Earth Snow Flurry Juniper Rye - I love the beer from Mother Earth and hadn't noticed this seasonal before.  Figured I'd grab it and try some time later in the future.  Price paid: $1.99
• Victory Mad King's Weisse - I wouldn't have picked it up if not for the fact that it was heavily discounted.  Perhaps it is an older seasonal and they're trying to get rid of stock or maybe it's a crap beer.  I don't know but considering the price I figured I'd give it a go.  Price paid: $2.99

Haul for 12/19 Part 1

For this particular haul, I was at World Market in Cary to pick up some Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers.  I had some ideas to grab some wine for Christmas or New Years festivities.  I couldn't just get some wine without looking at the beer selection and I ended up walking out with no wine (I'd come back a few days later and take care of that) and 2 bottles of cider.  Here's the haul:

• Doc's Cranberry Spice Apple Cider - I've had some of Doc's before and the idea of cranberry with cider sounded like a great seasonal alternative.  I'm a big fan of Oceanspray's Cran-Apple.  Easy choice.  Price paid: $5.99
• Crown Valley Gingerbread Cookie Cider - C'mon, the name itself should warrant enough intrigue for a purchase.  Cider?  Check.  Gingerbread cookie?  Really?  How can this possibly go together?  Maybe this will be a hot mess and be the nastiest thing I've ever had, or someone found a way to unlock the magic and make this work.  I figured it was worth a try.  Price paid: $5.99

Haul for 12/15

A week later, I was back in Charlotte and found myself back in Total Wine again.  And just like the last time, I couldn't drop in without getting a little something back for myself.  Here's the haul:

• Heavy Seas Yule Tide - I wanted to get at least one beer that was reminiscent of Christmas since we were less than 10 days away.  I went with this one, then proceeded to not drink it right away, because that's what I do.  I'm sure sometime in March or April of next year, I'll get around to drinking it.  Price paid: $8.99
• Stone/Bale/4 Hands Sorry Not Sorry - I was most intrigued by the idea of a peach IPA.  Otherwise, I probably would have given this a pass or at least opted for a different Stone collaboration.  Price paid: $9.99

Haul for 12/8

While working in Charlotte, I dropped by a nearby Total Wine to pick up some drinks to go with dinner.  Didn't get too much, but I certainly made sure I didn't walk away empty handed.  Here's the haul:

• Shmaltz/Terrapin Reunion Beer 2015 - I've picked up the 2012 and 2013 versions in the past and really didn't think I'd go back to the well again, but the description of pumpkin and other spices that were added to this concotion got the best of me.  Price paid: $8.99
• Grand Teton 5 O'clock Shadow Double Black Lager - This happened to be on the table and was advertised as some kind of special or price cut.  Don't know if that was the case, but I liked the label and had never tried Grand Teton before, so I decided to give it a shot.  Price paid: $9.99